This invention deals generally with gyratory crushers, and more specifically with a gyratory crusher for which all regular service and parts replacement can be accomplished from above the crusher.
Gyratory crushers are well established machines that are used for crushing rocks, ore, and other materials. They are very large and their basic structure comprises a bowl shaped as a cone with the wider end of the cone near the top of the crusher. A conical head assembly is located on the axis of the bowl, and the head assembly is oriented so that its smaller dimension is at the top of the crusher. To perform the crushing action, independent motions are applied to the conical head assembly. The first is rotation and the second is gyration.
In the typical gyratory crusher, large material is fed into the top between the large opening of the bowl and the small end of the head assembly where the volume is largest. The gyration of the head assembly is furnished by an eccentric drive, the rotation is driven by a gear, and vertical support and minor vertical adjustment is furnished by a hydraulic support. All these parts are located at the bottom of the crusher at the bottom of the conical head assembly. The combination of the rotation and the gyration applies forces that crush the pieces of material, and they fall lower into the reduced space within the bowl as they are reduced in size. Ultimately the material leaves the crusher through openings at the bottom of the crusher.
The hydraulic support assemblies on most gyratory crushers are large, heavy hydraulic cylindrical casings with robust bronze bushings, and they are located below the head assembly and the eccentric and gear drives. To service the wear parts of such a hydraulic support, it needs to be removed from the crusher, and to do this the assembly must be unbolted from the crusher frame and lowered onto a cart or other device which can move it out from beneath the crusher. This procedure is dangerous and time consuming because it requires personnel to be beneath the crusher to guide the movement of the hydraulic support while the crusher and the hydraulic support are being supported. Working below the crusher can expose personnel to hazards such as a poor visibility, poor communication, falls and tripping, high dust exposure, and rock falls.
It would be very beneficial to have a gyratory crusher that did not require access below the machine for scheduled and emergency service of the hydraulic support assembly and for removal of the eccentric drive, and other equipment.